ABERDEEN — Two time-honored sports axioms came into play here Thursday, as the Aberdeen High School football team played host to Belmont in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A playoffs.
“The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running” could very well have applied to Belmont, which outgained Aberdeen in rushing yards, 128-118.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the fact that “talent usually wins out” proved to be the case, as the Bulldogs used their superior athleticism, size, and team speed to score on their first seven offensive possessions en route to a 52-6 victory.
A realist first and foremost, Jason Coker wasn’t under any illusion that his Belmont squad was the biggest or the most talented team on the field. Although he was disappointed with the loss, the outcome didn’t come as any surprise to the first-year head coach, as there was a sense of recognition his squad was beaten by a superior team.
“My hat’s off to Aberdeen,” Coker said. “They are a really good football team, very athletic and very fast.”
At the same time, he praised his team’s effort.
“We may not be the biggest or the fastest team around, but my kids never quit, and they play with character and with class,” he said.
Bigger and faster, it didn’t take Aberdeen long to prove its superiority. Tay Carothers set up the score when he stripped the ball from Parker Bolton on Belmont’s second play from scrimmage to give the Bulldogs a first down at the Cardinals’ 37-yard line. A 12-yard pickup by Dorian Fears and Tramonte Prather’s 10-yard keeper set up a 3-yard plunge by Donte Carter that made it 6-0 with 10 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first quarter.
After Belmont went three and out, Aberdeen needed four plays to cover 61 yards, the final 41 of which came on a Prather-to-Isiah McMillian scoring strike. Prather hit McMillian for the two-point conversion with 7:02 remaining in the quarter.
A second three and out by Belmont allowed Aberdeen’s blitzkrieg to continue with Byron Butler’s pass to Jerrick Orr, which he took 65 yards for the score. Jacoby Carruth’s kick made it 21-0 with 4:05 left in the period.
The Bulldogs made it 4-for-4 two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter when third-string freshman quarterback Frederick Fields guided his unit on a seven-play, 50-yard march. The big gainers were completions of 9 and 24 yards to Orr.
Then, as the late Yogi Berra once said, “It was deja vu all over again,” as Carter muscled his way into the end zone on a 3-yard scoring plunge for a 27-0 lead with 9:29 left before the half.
A minus-1 yard punt gave Aberdeen a first down at the Belmont 45 on its fifth possession. Prather made it count with a perfectly thrown touchdown pass to Orr, who was wide open deep down the middle. Carruth’s kick gave the Bulldogs a 34-0 lead with 6:14 left in the quarter.
Carter then accounted for 48 yards on a seven-play, 82-yard drive. He went the final 21 yards to make it 40-0 with 2:50 left before intermission.
It took Aberdeen 1:13 into the second half to increase its lead to 46-0 when Prather and Orr hooked up on a 49-yard pass-run play, but the Bulldogs failed to dent the scoreboard on their eighth possession and punted for the first time.
Aberdeen’s defense accounted for its final touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter when Cameron Braylock stripped Zack Puckett at the 47 and sprinted 53 yards to give the Bulldogs a 52-point cushion.
Notwithstanding the various long-distance pass-run combinations, the game’s most exciting play came on a late first-quarter Belmont punt that Orr fielded at his 39. Seemingly trapped by several defenders, Orr doubled back and was again hemmed in, but he alertly lateraled the ball to fellow punt returner B.J. Williams, who followed a convoy of blockers into the end zone in what appeared to be an abbreviated version of the Miami-Duke fiasco a week ago.
Unfortunately for Aberdeen, a side judge had dropped a flag when an Aberdeen player failed to get off the field in time prior to the punt and the Bulldogs were penalized five yards for having 12 men on the field.
Belmont avoided the shutout on Logan Fowler’s 5-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining. The second half was played with a running clock.
“It’s good to see we’re jelling at the right time,” Aberdeen coach Eric Spann said. “We’ve had two good weeks of practice and our focus and leadership has been outstanding.
“Defensively, we also played well. Offensively and defensively we’re doing the right things at the right time, and this is the time of the year that becomes so much more important.”
Aberdeen will play host to Water Valley, which defeated Velma Jackson, next week in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
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